How To Bring A Night Fury Home
by Sweeterthansugar
Summary: It was a typical race between Hiccup and Astrid until they found a small night fury. Now, along with their friends they have to find out where she came from and how to bring her back there.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

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"C'mon, bud!" Toothless flapped his wings harder and took the lead over Stormfly. Hiccup turned in his seat to smile at Astrid. "This is hardly even a challenge for us, Astrid!"

She tightened her hands on Stormfly's reigns. "Let's take this into the woods then! Stormfly is much more nimble than any night fury, especially one ridden by you!"

"Sounds like someone hasn't seen what we can really do! You're on!" Both flew low into the trees. "First to the cove?"

Astrid smirked. "You're on. Hiya!" With a quick nudge Stormfly took off.

Hiccup shook his head. "C'mon, bud!" Toothless flew off after the nadder.

The two dragons and riders raced through the forest exchanging first place until Stormfly got caught in some vines and went tumbling to the ground. Toothless flew over the downed dragon and gave a short roar of delight. Hiccup laughed as the wind whipped his hair around his head. "C'mon, Toothless! Almost there!" The night fury poured on the speed and the forest passed by in a blur.

As Toothless got ready to flap his wings again for one last burst of speed, Hiccup noticed a group of changwings crowded around a pile of rocks. They were poking at a small opening and Hiccup noticed a small shape among the shadows before it retreated from sight. "Toothless!" Hiccup coaxed his dragon in the direction. Toothless's eyes narrowed and he roared, firing off a plasma blast that scattered the changewings. One changewing, royal blue in color, hissed at Toothless, refusing to leave. It started to prod the opening with one of its antennas, which resulted in Toothless releasing a growl in its direction. The changewing hissed in return and both dragons took an attack stance, their backs raising like a cat's, eyes narrowing, and teeth quickly being bared at the other.

"Whoa..." Hiccup patted Toothless's head. "Easy there, bud. Let's not start something." The night fury snorted, his demeanor becoming more relaxed, but not entirely. He got ready to fire another blast and the changeling regarded him for a moment, then the opening. With a soft hiss, it flapped and flew off toward the ocean.

Hiccup hopped off his dragon and patted Toothless. "Good job, Toothless..."  
The dragon whined softly, looking out where the changewing had flown off towards. The young viking approached the rocks when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey! What's wrong?" Stormfly flapped and landed next to them. Astrid hopped off quickly and hurried over to Hiccup. Stormfly followed close behind.

"There's something in there." The small boy crouched to peer into the dark opening. He could barely make out two points of light that looked like eyes, before they retreated farther back, but it was too dark to tell.

Toothless bumped into Hiccup, knocking him down, as he looked into the pocket as well. "Could say excuse me, bud..." Hiccup dusted off his clothes and began to stand. Suddenly, Toothless's eyes widened and he made soft huffing noises, sticking his snout into the opening. Hiccup watched, confused. "Toothless? What are you...?"

The night fury steadily and slowly began to back up. The two teens gasped as they saw a much smaller navy colored snout against Toothless's snout. The night fury kept backing up, making Stormfly hop out of the way, with an irritated noise, until they saw a much smaller night fury emerge from the opening.

"What the...?" Astrid stared, amazed.

Hiccup watched as Toothless nuzzled the smaller night fury and whined softly. "Another night fury...? This is incredible!" The small dragon jumped at his outburst and Toothless immediately whined to the small dragon to calm it.

Astrid watched the exchange. "I...I think it's a baby night fury..."

The baby looked over at her, its pupils wide and innocent. It walked over to the pair, gazing up at them curiously. Hiccup reached forward. "Hey, little guy..." The tiny dragon sniffed his hand then nuzzled it happily. "He looks exactly like Toothless...except for the size and color."

"And tail." Astrid pointed out as she studied the dragon. "And, Hiccup? It's not a boy. It's a girl."

Hiccup looked at Astrid in excitement. "Do you know what this means? If there's a baby there must be a mother around somewhere! There may be other night furies!" The baby mewled at his excitement and scrambled up his chest to lick his cheek. "Easy, girl!" Hiccup laughed nudging her away. "C'mon." He scooped her up into his arms and walked over to Toothless, climbing on. "Astrid, let's go tell the others."

Astrid pet the tiny dragon's head then noticed something. "Hiccup, look at this." Around the tiny night fury's neck, was a slender rope with a stone hanging from it with something carved into it. "It says...Sliversky."

"Sliversky? Well, the name suits her. She's the color of the sky after all." He smiled down at the baby, petting her head, as she stared back curiously.

Astrid hurried over to her nadder and climbed up. "Let's go, Hiccup! Who knows what this might mean? We have to tell the others."

Hiccup nodded. "Right." Toothless whined and took off into the sky with Stormfly, headed toward Berk with their riders and their tiny mysterious dragon. She watched the ground fly by beneath them then looked over Hiccup's shoulder to her hiding place. A dragon flapped nearby and looked back at her. The dragon made a soft roar to the royal blue changewing that it returned. Then it turned and flew off toward the ocean, not coming back this time. The baby roared after it again and again. "Hey!" Hiccup looked down at her rubbed her back. "What's wrong?" He looked back to the rocks and didn't see anything. "You're safe now. No one is gonna hurt you..." The baby curled up on Toothless's back in front of Hiccup. Sliversky lay her tail over her face how usually did and dozed off as they headed to Berk.

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**Alrighty so my first How To Train Your Dragon Fanfiction. Hoped it was up to par! I always have short first chapters to see how people take to the story. I hope everyone likes it! Oh and by the way if there are any dragons in the book of dragons you want to see appear in the story just give me their name and powers etc. and I'll try to fit them in. Please read, review, and enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

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The six teens and six dragons gathered in the arena. All eyes were fixated on the tiny night fury that was playing with Hiccup's viking helmet. She batted at a horn and watched the helmet spin around then continued, letting out a squeaky roar of pleasure now and again.

"Too bad Tuffnut isn't that cute. Maybe he'd actually get a girlfriend." Ruffnut chuckled.

"So, girls like that kinda thing?" Snotlout flicked Astrid's braid. She glared at him and slapped him. "Oh!" Snotlout hit the ground and Sliversky put her front paws on the helmet to stare at the injured Snotlout. She chirped in delight, seeming to be laughing. Toothless picked her up by the back of her neck and moved her out of Snotlout's view, so she couldn't see him. He growled at her and she looked down, her ears flopping down.

Hiccup sighed. "Guys, c'mon! What are we gonna do? She must belong to someone since she has the collar."

Fishlegs picked up the small dragon under her front legs. She squirmed then looked at him curiously. He studied the rock. "It doesn't look like any stone that's found on Berk...and we don't have any information on the night fury beside what we've gathered from Toothless. If we knew where the stone came from, maybe we could find out where this little dragon came from." Sliversky smiled a gummy smile at Fishlegs then scrambled up his arm to curl up around his neck. He smiled happily at her.

"That's a good idea, Fishlegs." Hiccup looked at the slumbering Sliversky. "C'mon. We'll go ask, Gobber. He may know. Astrid? Can you show the others where we found her? Maybe there's another clue there we missed." Everyone got on their dragons and flew off in different directions.

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Toothless and Meatlug landed in the middle of town and the boys hopped down, running to Gobber's dentist office. He was currently checking Thornado's teeth and nodding as he checked each tooth. Hiccup and Fishlegs ran over. "Hey, Gobber? We need you take a look at something." Hiccup watched Gobber work.

"Just a minute, Hiccup..." Gobber's whole head was in Thornado's jaws. "Here we go!" A crack was heard and Gobber removed his head, holding a fish spine in his hand. He waved the spine at the dragon. "Make sure ya swallow all of it next time!" He shooed the dragon away. "Now, boys. What is it ya need?" Gobber brushed his hands off on his pants and walked over to the teens. He froze. "Another night fury?"

"Yea, but it's her collar we need to talk to you about. Gobber, do you recognize this type of stone?" Hiccup showed him the pendant and Gobber crouched a little to see it.

"Sliversky? Hmmm..." He touched the stone and sniffed it. "Sodalite. It's very rare round these parts, though." Sliversky growled at the viking and hid behind Fishlegs's head, peering at Gobber nervously. Fishlegs patted her head, calming her.

Hiccup turned to Gobber. "So where exactly can we find sodalite?"

Gobber tapped his chin with his hook. "Now let me think..." He wandered back to his store. "I have it around here somewhere..."

* * *

The four teens flew over the forest quietly. "There!" Astrid pointed to the rocks where Sliversky had been found. They flew down and landed in the small clearing. Astrid showed them where they had found the small dragon.

Tuffnut stuck his head in the opening. "It's dark! Really dark!" Ruffnut shoved Tuffnut in further and snickered.

Astrid sighed and shook her head as she searched.

"Uhhh, guys?" They all looked to where Snotlout was pointing. The royal blue changewing landed and hissed at the group. It glared at the other dragons causing them to shy away, then turned its attention to the kids. It raised its antennas and pushed them from the opening. It sniffed and pulled back in surprise then howled sadly.

Astrid darted to Stormfly. "Stormfly! Needles!" She stroked her dragon's neck and the nadder calmed down. Spikes extended on her tail, which caught the changewing's attention. The two dragon's roared at each other. Everyone stared at the exchange. The changewing nodded its head and flew off again. "What was that all about?" Astrid stared at the disappearing dragon.

* * *

"Here it is!" Goober came out of his store with a book and started flipping pages. "Emeralds...gold...limestone...pearl...quartz...ru by...sapphire...ah-ha! Sodalite!" The viking confidently opened the book and scanned the page. "Sodalite. Says here the only place it's found within a day's travel is Misty Isle, but that be far too dangerous." He looked back at the boys.

Hiccup's eyebrows pulled down low. "Misty Isle? I've never even heard of it."

"No surprise." Gobber closed the book and handed it to Fishlegs. "The island is surrounded by mist and is veryyy dangerous."

"Da...dangerous...?" Fishlegs peered over the edge of the book nervously.

Gobber nodded. "Any ship that comes near is fired at and sunk unless it turns round."

Sliversky shifted her haunches and pounced on to Hiccup's head. He strokes her head. "So, if the place is so dangerous how did she get here?"

Gobber shrugged. "Haven't a clue, Hiccup." Just then, a shadow passed over them and the three males looked up to see a dragon passing overhead. They watched it turn and land heavily in the center of town, sizing them up.

A slender girl slid off the navy night fury. It shook its head and roared, eyes narrowing at the males. Hiccup noticed grey stripes on it's legs and tail, as well as a good part of the end of its wings streaked in grey.

The girl wore a dark green long sleeve shirt with flowing sleeves. She wore an ankle-length loincloth of the same color and underneath wore a fitting, tan long sleeve shirt and pants. The top of the evergreen shirt was lined in blue fur that matched the blue of her shoes. The night fury growled then tugged on one the two blue navy straps that connected her sleeves on both sides. She moved and pressed her forehead to the splash of grey on the night fury's head, mumbling soft words of calm. It whined softly then playfully nipped at the navy, leather strap she had hanging off her matching belt. The girl smiled then pulled back and looked at the boys, man, and dragon staring at her. She put a hand on her hip and regarded them quietly for a moment before she spoke. "So who are you and what are you doing with Dusk's baby?"

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**So, here is chapter two! I hope you guys like it. I hope I'm staying in character well. Please keep reading and reviewing! The more reviews I get the more motivated I am to update quicker.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

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The males stared at the girl in stunned silence. The night fury beside her had her pupils narrowed to slits and her lip tugged away from her teeth in a growl. Toothless returned the growl, but in a friendlier note. The girl turned to the dragon, stroking her ear. "Easy, Dusk...we'll get this sorted out..." She turned her gaze on Hiccup and he swallowed nervously. He could face down a monstrous nightmare without batting an eye, but when it came to girls, especially fierce girls like Astrid and this one, he wanted to hop on Toothless and fly away. He wasn't a coward, it wa just easier dealing with a fire-breathing dragon than a teenage girl, even if they were kind of similar. "You're the dragon conqueror, right? Why do you have, Sliversky?"

Hiccup held up his hands in his defense. "First off, I'm a dragon trainer, not a dragon conqueror." Why did everyone call him that? "Second, I found Sliversky alone and being bullied by some changewings. We saved her." The tiny dragon squeaked and nodded in agreement. "We never would have hurt her. We were just trying to figure out where she came from." Dusk grumbled and Sliversky hopped off Fishlegs's shoulder and scurried over to her mother timidly. The mother night fury gave her daughter a stern look then purred rubbing her chin on the baby's back, much like a cat would.

The girl smiled at the pair and stooped down to stroke Sliversky. The dragon smiled and pounced, knocking the girl off her heels with a laugh. "Easy, girl!" She held the tiny dragon to her chest and looked to the stunned men and dragons. "My name is..." She paused and Hiccup saw something flash across her eyes. "Well, I prefer the nickname Ursa. You've already met Sliversky and Dusk." She gestured to the dragons, then turned to them. "Who are you?"

Gobber and Fishlegs still seemed to be at a loss for words, so Hiccup spoke up. "My name is Hiccup. This is Toothless. Meatlug. Fishlegs. Gobber." The skinny Viking gestured to each in turn. She nodded at each one in recognition.

Just then, a roar was heard and they all turned to see the royal blue changewing from earlier round Gobber's shop. It glared at the Berk citizens and scurried over to join Ursa, Dusk, and Sliversky. It hissed, nudging Ursa, and she whispering softly to it, stroking its jaw. Hiccup was amazed as he saw her use the techniques he'd often use on the dragons. She was patient with the changewing until it calmed down. Her gaze remained on the dragon. "This is Swift." She placed a loving kiss between his eyes, earning a contented hiss from the dragon.

Fishlegs watched the exchange then blurted out his confusion. "Hiccup? Didn't you say a royal blue changewing had been attacking Sliversky? Is this, uh, the same one...?" Fishlegs trailed off as the dragon turned to him and hissed in annoyance, eyes narrowing.

Ursa's brow furrowed and she looked at the husky viking. "Swift would never hurt Sliversky. They're friends."

"Well, that's not exactly what I saw..." Hiccup quickly filled her in on what he had witnessed.

The girl smiled and when Hiccup was done, she was happily laughing. Fishlegs and Hiccup both smiled, it was a sweet laugh. "My, oh, my what a misunderstanding..." She smiled and all of her previous fierceness was evaporated. Hiccup was surprised, to say the least. The girl that stood before them wasn't the same one that had appeared earlier. This one had an inviting smile on her lips and a playful challenge in her eyes. Her stance was delighted, as though she was bursting with excitement. Earlier, she had seemed like a typical viking, gruff, tough, and blunt. Now, she seemed sweet, silly, and curious. A complete transformation had taken place and he had somehow missed it. She approached them, still stroking Sliversky, flanked by her dragons. "Can we talk about this somewhere cozier?" They nodded and started heading to the Great Hall. Halfway there, Snotlout, Astrid, and the twins caught up. After a few minutes, everyone was caught up to speed. Hiccup mentally sighed in relief that Astrid hadn't started something with Ursa and that none of the dragons had started fighting. Now it was time for some answers, but somehow Hiccup felt the answers he got would open a hundred new questions.

They all settled around the table comfortably. Toothless and Dusk, now not quite as on edge with one another had started a fire. Dusk was still uneasy around Toothless, but he was good with Sliversky, so she was coming around to him. The teens, Gobber, and Stoick, who they figured should be included in the meeting gathered around to hear Ursa's tale. She took a deep breath and began. "Swift and Sliversky are my closest friends. We'd often play, just the three of us. Tag, hide and seek, you name it. It was always so much fun!" She grinned and both dragons chimed in agreeing from their places by the firepit. "We'd cause such trouble. Believe it or not, I don't exactly fit in. Well, at first it had just been Swift and me. The island I was born on, well, to say I wasn't accepted is an understatement. One day, I met Swift and we became friends. So one day we took off and flew. We flew until I was afraid what would happen if Swift didn't stop to rest. We ended up landing on what you call Misty Isle. It's a beautiful island. We made it our home. It even turned out..." She swallowed and stared at the ground. "My mother lived on the island. I had only lived with my father until I ran away."

Everyone was quiet absorbing all this. Stoick, surprisingly, was the first to speak. "It must've been tough. It's hard on a child, not to have their mother around." He placed a hand on his son's shoulder and Hiccup gave his dad a small smile.

The girl nodded. After a moment, Ursa continued. "For a while it was just my mother, Swift, and I living together on the outskirts of the village there. I befriended many dragons, Dusk being one such dragon." At the sound of her name, Dusk stood and loped over, purring and nuzzling Ursa. She stroked her head and the dragon returned to Toothless and Sliversky. "After Sliversky was born, I helped care for her, and we'd play a good deal. One day, there was a bad storm. We had been flying at the time. Swift carried us back as fast he could, but the wind was too strong. We fell into the water. The current was so strong..." Her eyes glazed for a moment as she remembered. "I put Sliversky in my fish carrier and latched it. My mother is an outstanding weaver and that carrier is waterproof. I knew she'd be alright. Swift and I returned to shore, with no sign of Sliversky. I sent Swift and some other changewings to search for her. You see? They were just excited to find her, but she's young and was shaken up. Because she's so little, she didn't recognize all the dragons and was afraid and confused."

Astrid looked at Hiccup. "That does match what we saw." He nodded back.

Ursa smiled as Sliversky came over and she help out some fish to the baby. The tiny dragon chirped its thanks and grabbed it in its jaws, hopping up on Ursa's lap to chew on her snack. Ursa's smile was warm as she pet Sliversky. "I was so worried...as was Dusk, obviously." A low growl of agreement was heard from near the fire.

The twins and Snotlout had been fairly quiet during all this, losing interest quickly, but now Snotlout leaned closer grinning at the small girl. "So, babe, whatcha gonna do now that you've found your little dragon? I could...show you around Berk if you want. Show you all the best spots..." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Ursa blinked, clearly oblivious of his flirting. "Well, I would like Sliversky to be able to rest and heal up after what she's been through. Dusk and Swift have been searching like crazy and have been so stressed out a day or two of rest couldn't hurt either... So, I wouldn't mind staying a day or two if that was alright..." She shyly looked at Stoick and all eyes, human and dragon turned to him.

"Well, I don't see why there'd be a problem. As long as your dragons stay under control, it's fine." There were assorted whoops and roars of delight and Stoick chuckled amused.

Gobber, however, was a bit more practical. "Well, Stoick, I personally don't have a problem with it, but where we gonna fit em all? The baby won't take up much space and I'm sure we could work out something for these two." He gestured to Swift and Dusk, who looked up in curiousity. "But, I don't know where we'd fit the rest.'"

Ursa chimed in happily. "Oh, no worried. I'll send them back home. Swift is my best friend and I'd like for him and Dusk to rest, but the rest of the changewings I've been asking to search in shifts. This batch should be fine to fly home. I'll go send them off then." She stood and hurried out with Swift quickly following. After a few moments, Sliversky scampered after them before anyone could stop her.

Hiccup sighed, standing. "I'll go get her." Hardly anyone noticed. The twins were messing around with the fire, Snotlout was challenging Astrid to arm wrestling, Fishlegs was updating the book of dragons, and Gobber and Stoick had left after their little meeting. Most of the dragons were napping, but Toothless's ears pricked at Hiccup's departure and he quickly followed. He whined and Hiccup scratched his head as the cold evening wind bit at his skin. "C'mon, bud."

* * *

As they wandered around looking, they noticed a small blue blotch in the grass overlooking the docks. They headed over and, sure enough, it was Sliversky. Hiccup and Toothless approached, but Sliversky seemed oblivious. Hiccup followed her gaze down to the docks where, on the sandy shore, Ursa was talking to her group of changewings. They were all in the air, except for Swift who stood behind her and a smaller changewing that seemed stubborn not to leave. The wind carried her voice up to them. "I know you want to stay, but I'll be home in a few days. You guys have to let them know we found Sliversky and everything is okay." The changewing growled to her as if arguing. "Hey, no back talk. I'll play with you guys when I get home." Another growl floated up to Hiccup and he watched as she took a step back, surprised at something, turning and he could see her cheeks tinged pink in the fading light. "It's not like that! You and your crazy romances. It's obvious he liked that blonde. I think her name is Astrid... Now, go on! This way you'll still have some light to fly by." The dragon seemed to laugh before it followed the others.

Hiccup looked at Toothless. "What was that all about?" His night fury shrugged in return.

Ursa turned and noticed the trio up on the hill. She raised an eyebrow and quickly hopped on to Swift, who carried her up to the hill. "What are you doing here?"

The skinny Viking looked at her nervously. "Sliversky ran off so we went to go get her!" He hoped she didn't realize she'd been overheard.

She nodded. "Sounds about right..." Ursa turned her gaze to an innocent looking Sliversky. "Will you stop causing trouble? We're guests! Behave." The dragon scowled and looked away, sulking. Ursa smirked and Hiccup felt odd at the unusual smirk on her usually friendly face. "Alright, missy. Guess I'll have to report it to Mama." The baby's eyes widened and she hurriedly shook her head, pleading. "Fine. I won't, but if I don't you have to promise you'll behave. Deal?" Sliversky nodded and Ursa smiled then turned to Hiccup. "Shall we head back?"

He returned the smile and they started back to the great hall, side by side. Swift and Toothless followed close behind, Sliversky curled up on Toothless's back, all tuckered out after her long day. "So..." Hiccup glanced at Ursa, who returned his curious look. "Speaking of telling people things, I heard you talking to those changewings." He glanced at her again. This would decide it. If she got mad, she was the fierce Viking he had first met and he'd have to keep an eye on any fights between her and Astrid. If she answered calmly, then the fierce version was just for show.

She blinked."Yeah, and?"

"Well, it seemed like you were carrying on an actual conversation with one of them."

She blinked again. "I was."

Hiccup wasn't sure if he was more confused or frustrated by her simple answers. "It seemed like you actually understood."

She stopped and rested her hands on her hips. "I did. I do." Ursa crossed her arms.

Hiccup sighed, exasperated. "How can you?"

She tilted her head in confusion. "It's a language, just like the one you and I are speaking right now." He stared back her, still seeming confused so she thought of another way of wording it. "Remember when we first met? You told me you were a dragon trainer? Well, I guess you could call me a dragon whisperer."

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**Hey, guys! I apologize for the insanely long wait. I've had a lottt going on the past couple months and I haven't gotten a chance to post. Sorry... Anyways, hope you like the story so far! Please keep reading, reviewing, and enjoying!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

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The tiny girl wandered over to the locked door. The chains creaked as the large log was pulled away, allowing the door to open. The small girl, no more than ten, stared as the door opened, revealing a whispering death. It shrieked and she watched its teeth spin. She blinked. Maybe she should just make it mad. If she made it mad, then her daddy would stop trying to make her befriend the dragons. She liked the dragons, but she knew that if she befriended them, he'd only use them for fighting other dragons to kill them and would throw them away when he didn't need them anymore. They'd be weapons and nothing more.

"Come on." A grisly voice called down from the caged dome. "I know ya can talk to it. Go on... Or would ya rather be a snack for it?" The girl stared up at her father then turned back to the dragon. It was regarding her, debating if she was friend or foe. She stuck her arms out to either side and closed her eyes. It hissed, uncertain. She heard its teeth slowing down as it regarded her as not a threat. "Bah!" She didn't stir as her father commanded his men down into the ring. Her eyes only opened when she heard the whispering death roar. It gave her a desperate look as it was herded back into its cell. She lowered her arms and turned as her father approached.

He stormed right up to her, jabbing a poorly washed hand in her face. "Now, listen ere ya little runt! I'm your father and you'll do as I say!"

She regarded him and could see her lack of reaction simply angered him further. He glared. "Bah! You're no use to me! I don't have a use for a soldier that won't listen." The girl blinked. She was only ten and yet her father considered her his soldier? He smirked and crossed his arms. "When we have no use fer something, we get rid of it."

The girl glanced around at her father's men closing in. "...help..." Her soft voice reached the whispering death's ears and she looked at it. Their gazes locked. She spoke again, soft and slow, even though time was of the essence as her father's men closed in on her. "...if I had acknowledged you, you would have been killed..." Its eyes widened and it roared, racing toward her. It caught her on its head and she quickly scrambled behind its head as it burrowed under the area. Her tiny hands held desperately to its spikes as it carried her through the earth and then into the air. It flapped, carrying her away from that awful dome. She smiled as the wind blew back her hair. Flying! It felt wonderful...

The happiness only lasted for a moment.

There was yelling and the whispering death turned to the sound of voices. The girl tried to coax the dragon away, but it roared, holding its ground. The men began throwing items at them, trying to knock them out of the sky. With a roar, the dragon moved its body quickly, knocking the girl farther down its body and hidden behind one of its wings. She clutched desperately to the spikes. Luckily, she was small enough that she could sit among the spikes.

Suddenly, the whispering death shrieked and a moment later she felt a sharp pain in her left shoulder. She looked down and her eyes widened in horror. A flaming spear was wedged in the whispering death's wing. The tip of the spear was wedged in her, right between her left shoulder and collar bone. The flames singed her skin and she jerked back, screaming. The dragon began to fall to the ground, unable to fly. It glided a short way, gaining a bit of distance on the men before it landed.

They hit the ground hard and the kicked up dirt quickly put the flames out. She clutched her bleeding shoulder and scurried to the whispering death. It was panting, its wing torn. She grasped the spear and, with all her strength, managed to pull it free. The wound would heal, but the poor dragon wouldn't be able to fly anytime soon and she heard her father's men approaching. The dragon hissed at her and she looked at it frantically. "No! I won't leave you!" With a cut like that, she doubted it'd even be able to escape underground. Then again, she doubted it would for then it would be abandoning her and she realized the dragon wouldn't do that to her. The dragon nuzzled her and she clung to it, but then it roared loudly. A changewing flew from the trees landing beside them. The whispering death hissed to the new dragon and the changewing nodded. It regarded her for only a moment before it scooped the girl up on to its back and was off. "NO!" The girl looked down as she saw her father's men catch up to the whispering death and tie ropes around the injured dragon. It looked up at her. Its face didn't show any regrets.

She turned and buried her face in the blue scaley skin, tears streaming down her face. This was all her fault... The dragon glanced over its shoulder at her in concern. "Will you..." She sniffled. "Will you take me to my mother...?" The changewing nodded and they flew off.

* * *

Ursa sat straight up in bed gasping, clutching her left shoulder. She pulled her shirt off her shoulder and inspected the skin. Sure enough, there was no blood, only the scar. She pulled her knees up and rested her elbows on them, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes. Ursa focused on calming her breathing first. Her breathing was ragged and uneven from the old memory and echoed in the empty great hall. Stoick had pulled a spare cot in for her to use and she was the only one there. Her dragons were camping on the roof and outside. Finally, her breathing steadied and she wiped the sweat from her brow. Her light brown hair was soaked. She laughed softly. "I thought I was done with that nightmare..." The girl looked over at the flickering candle she had lit before bed. She climbed out of bed and walked to the front door, past where her loincloth and top shirt lay, neatly folded.

The moon was the only thing wide awake at this hour, shining pale light on her tan clothes, but it seemed to be growing sleeping. It hung low and plump in the sky and she knew morning was only a few hours away. She leaned her back on the door and rubbed her shoulder, although the pain had faded long ago the memory was now fresh in her mind.

* * *

Hiccup yawned and shoved away the snout that was nuzzling him. "Toothless..." He yawned, leaning up on one arm. "Do we have to go for a morning ride everyyyy morning?" The dragon stared back with wide eyes as though the answer was obvious. The skinny viking groaned. "Fine..." Hiccup pulled back the thin blanket and swung his leg over the side of the bed. "Only if you pass me my leg and we stop by to check on our guests, though, bud."

* * *

Hiccup yawned, again, sleepily. The sun was barely shining on Berk as they headed to the great hall. "Toothless? Do you really have to wake me before the sun even wakes up?" The dragon looked at him curiously and Hiccup rolled his eyes.

The pair approached the great hall and he opened the heavy door. They wandered inside and Toothless whined as Hiccup approached the cot. "Hey, how did you sleep, Urs..?" He trailed off as he saw the blanket was neatly folded on the bed. There was no Ursa in sight. Where was Ursa? He had seen Dusk and Swift still snoozing outside so she hadn't left in the night at least. He turned and raced to the door. "Come on, bud!" Toothless bounded after his trainer eagerly.

Hiccup was just approaching a path out of town when he heard a faint voice singing. He paused and made out some words. "You flap your wings so strong...flap your wings so fast..." Hiccup gestured to Toothless and they quietly approached the voice as it continued. "Will you use your fast, strong wings...to carry me away...?" They rounded the last house and he could make out a faint figure near the cliff side. "Or will you use those wings of yours...? To blow, blow me away?" As they approached, Hiccup was amazed to see it was Ursa that was the singer. She was slowly twirling or swaying in the grass. Slowly, she'd bound or spin around Sliversky, who watched, captivated. Her hair and top clothes swayed in the breeze she created. Hiccup could tell the song was nearly over and gestured to Toothless to wait. "So tell me my fire breathing friend...? Will you keep me close or push me away...? In...the...endddd...?" She closed her eyes, hands clasped to her chest, as she let the last note finish and fade slowly. A slight breeze picked up and playfully fluttered her hair back. Her eyes opened halfway, slowly, and she smiled at Sliversky.

"That was really beautiful." Ursa's eyes flew open and she looked to Hiccup, clearly startled. He watched as her hands quickly dropped away and she fidgeted, one hand brushing some hair in front of her face.

"Th...thank you..." She looked shyly at the ground.

Toothless and Sliversky began to play so Hiccup and Ursa sat in the grass at the cliffside. "What were you singing?"

She smiled, watching the dragons play. There was no way she could meet Hiccup's eyes. She got terribly embarrassed whenever anyone heard her sing. Ursa would have acted in the same shy way no matter who had heard her, except her father. In that instance, she would have been withdrawn. Dragons were the only company she ever felt truly comfortable enough around to sing to. "It...was a lullaby. My mom used to sing it to me all the time. Now, I sing it to the newly hatched dragons on our island to calm them down." He nodded, watching the dragons too. Toothless would raise his haunches playfully and Sliversky would chase after him with a squeak. "You and Toothless are so close. You're lucky."

Hiccup stood, dusting himself off. "It wasn't always like that. When Toothless and I first met, I was going to kill him." Ursa's eyes widened and he sighed smiling. "I've always been a bit different, but Toothless showed me how different I really am."

Ursa stood up and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Different doesn't always equal bad, though." He looked at her in surprise and she smiled sweetly at him.

Suddenly, they heard a cracking noise, followed by a rumble, and looked down to see the footing beneath Hiccup's feet crumbling away. His eyes widened slightly in surprise as he fell backwards, toward the ocean. "NO!" In an instant, she had grabbed Hiccup's vest and wrenched him back toward land, throwing him into the grass, but the force made her stagger. She was too close to the crumbling rock and began falling into the open air as the unstable earth beneath her feet gave way. It seemed to happen in slow motion and she saw Sliversky racing toward her. "STAY!" She roared the command at the tiny dragon and Sliversky instantly backed down, unused to that amount of force in Ursa's voice. There wa no way Sliversky would have been able to carry her to safety, Ursa knew this and didn't want to pointlessly risk the baby night fury's life. She closed her eyes as she felt the wind pressing against her back.

Toothless caught a flash of brown hair disappear over the cliffside and was alreay racing toward the cliff's edge. Hiccup matched stride with his dragon effortlessly and slid into the saddle as Toothless launched himself over the side. "Come on, Toothless!" Hiccup saw the water racing up at them and at Ursa's falling form. "Just a little more, bud..." Toothless roared, making Ursa open her eyes, and he swooped down under her, catching her on his back. The girl yelped in surprise, landing sideways and skidding into Hiccup, practically knocking the skinny Viking from his saddle. Toothless flapped hard to steady himself. The speed and sudden swoop and dive had given him too much speed and they had ended up a surprising distance from shore.

Hiccup looked at Ursa worriedly. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "You saved me..." She turned and rubbed Toothless's head. "Both of you..." Toothless crooned happily.

Hiccup smiled, glad she was alright. "Well, you saved me first after all. Toothless, let's head back." The night fury turned easily and started heading back.

Hiccup rested a hand on her shoulder to keep her steady on the saddle. It wasn't an affectionate gesture, just an impulse since nothing was holding her to Toothless and she could easily fall off, but it made her feel happy nonetheless. Ursa looked back to where they were headed, noting Sliversky's small form in the grassy area. The small night fury was away from the edge as Ursa had asked and she was glad. Then she frowned at the crumbled area they headed back to. Below it was a faintly curved indentation. It was easy to miss, but she recognized it. The hole of a whispering death. It was no accident that the rock had crumbled away when it did.

She grabbed a fist of Hiccup's vest in fear and he looked down seeing terror in her eyes. "Hey..." He squeezed her shoulder gently. "It's okay. Everyone is fine. It's going to be okay." He gave her a reassuring smile, then turned back to steering.

Ursa stared out at the water. No. It would never be okay because her past would never leave her. She could fly and run as far as she wanted to, but she could never escape who she was.

* * *

**Well, I think this chapter came out well. I wanted to get it out quickly to celebrate the new season! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to post yesterday, but better late than never right? Hope my last line is getting some curiosity out of you. Please read and review! Oh, and the more reviews I get the more motivated I'll be to post quickly. So, please review and say what you thought!:)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Just a heads up. For anyone who hasn't seen the first episode of Defenders of Berk, this chapter contains spoilers (very minor spoilers, but still).**

* * *

"Isn't the first rule redundant, then?" Ursa was leaning against a table, arms crossed over her chest as she regarded Astrid. "If the first rule of a club is that it doesn't exist, doesn't that kinda say something about the club?" Everyone and their dragons were there, counting Dusk and Sliversky, except for their unlikely leader. The kids were all waiting for Hiccup who was late, running an errand for Stoick.

Ursa sighed, remembering the morning. After Toothless had landed and they'd been on stable ground, Sliversky had tackled her, nuzzling worriedly. "I'm fine, Sliversky. It's okay..." She hugged the tiny dragon and Toothless had nudged her with his snout, huffing. She laughed and rubbed his nose. "All thanks to Toothless and Hiccup." The tiny dragon turned and tackled Hiccup happily, clearly glad he had saved her friend. Ursa stood and rubbed Toothless's head. He whined happily and made a gummy smile at her. "I could get used to this..." She murmured softly to the night fury. He looked at her confused.

Hiccup stood up, still laughing from Sliversky's energy. "You say something, Ursa?"

"Uh-uh." She shook her head and smiled.

"Well, then." Hiccup moved his arm, allowing Sliversky to scamper up and settle on his shoulder. "Why don't we go say hi to Berk's dragon flight club?"

Tuffnut raised his arm up from where he lay on the ground, waking Ursa from her remembering. "Yeah, when you figure that one out let us know. Is there a club, isn't there a club? I'm still trying to figure out if I'm in a club or not." He seemed to be thinking for a moment before he leaned up on an arm to look at her. "Uhhhh what's redundant mean?"

Ursa smiled politely at him. "Redundant means unnecessary. It's like if you said water is wet."

"Ohhhh...like saying Ruffnut is dumb?" He chuckled until Ruffnut whacked his helmet. "Ow!"

Ursa quietly laughed. "Not quite, Tuffnut."

Astrid ground her teeth in irritation. Ursa had been getting on her nerves ever since she arrived, knowing all kinds of things about dragons and having rare dragons. She had been impressing everyone. The girl wasn't that amazing... She just seemed to act like she was better than her and it irritated Astrid. Then to top it all off, this morning she had seen Hiccup riding Toothless back to Berk and after Toothless swooped lower to land, she saw Ursa sitting on Toothless too, with Hiccup's arm around her! As if there was any reason Hiccup needed to have his arm around her! She wanted to swing an axe or hammer at something just thinking about it.

Astrid fumed, to say the least, just remembering the scene. She had hurried over and been peering around the side of a house and saw Hiccup hop down. He'd offered his hand to Ursa to help her down and she'd shyly declined, getting ready to slide off on her own.

Toothless had lost some points in Astrid's book when he shook himself, causing Ursa to slide off and into Hiccup. That mischievous dragon, Astrid thought annoyed, wondering if he'd done it on purpose. He most likely did. Toothless was always trying to help Hiccup, which, she reminded herself, had saved Hiccup on numerous occasions so maybe she should cut the night fury some slack. Everyone was always so quick to get mad at or blame Toothless. It really wasn't fair. Okay, she mentally decided she wouldn't hold so much against Toothless on this. He was just trying to be nice to Hiccup after all.

She did give Ursa credit too. Astrid had expected their little guest to look at Hiccup in a flirty way or to try to do something and claim she was 'caught up in the moment,' but the girl had just looked at the small boy in surprise before jumping back and laughing it off lightly. Hiccup had laughed too, though somewhat hesitantly. That boy was just so darn hesitant and unsure of himself! It was one of the things that Astrid did kind of like about him, though. He'd go from nervous and uncertain to determined and confident when he was handling dragons or learning about them. The fierce gleam in his eyes she saw at those times was very appealing. That was a version of Hiccup she could definitely get behind. Granted, she didn't want to change Hiccup. It was that shy, uncertain boy that had decided to befriend a dragon and ride it and had changed Berk forever, but still. You'd think training a fire-breathing dragon that was such a deadly force would make a guy a bit more confident, but nooooo.

She sighed and continued to explain. "The club had to be a secret when it was formed. That's why it was the first rule. We weren't allowed to fly, so we made the club to practice in secrecy at night. It's not that hard to understand."

Ursa had little interest in whatever Astrid was going on about. It was called dragon flight club and the club had been created due to a rule that no longer existed so why was the club still here? Fishlegs had told her all about the dragon academy when he walked her over to the stadium after they had bumped into Stoick on the way over and Hiccup had left Fishlegs to bring her to the stadium after his father told him about some errand. The academy sounded like a smarter idea than this club. Yet, she didn't argue as Astrid droned on and on about this club. The girl had had it out for her the second she'd landed on Berk and she had no idea why. Honestly, the only thing that came to her mind was that she'd been spending a fair bit of time with Hiccup. Was Astrid jealous? That'd be interesting.

Smiling at the thought, she turned to watch Sliversky run and jump off the table again. She frantically flapped her wings, trying to desperately stay airborn, before she fluttered to the ground. Toothless would help her back on to the table for her to try again and again. He seemed to have endless patience for the little girl. Dusk was laying nearby, watching the pair happily. Dusk seemed to be growing very comfortable with Toothless and it warmed Ursa's heart to know that. She reluctantly turned her focus back to Astrid. "So, guess I'm the eighth member of this little club? At least as far as human-wise?" Ursa turned her gaze to Astrid, who's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing to annoyed slits.

Astrid crossed her arms, angrily mimicking Ursa's posture. "Who says you're in our club?"

Snotlout strolled over grinning. "I say let her in! We could use some more girls round here." He glanced over at Ruffnut who was currently waving a hand in front of her face to dissipate a green cloud.

"Uhhh, Barf! It smells like Tuffnut's boots!"

Tuffnut wrinkled his nose. "No way! Barf over here!" The zippleback moved its head over and released another cloud. Tuffnut sniffed. "Yup. Smells like...my...boots..." He fell back dazed.

Snotlout looked back to the two girls. "See what I mean?"

Ursa laughed softly. "I'm not exactly your average girl..." Snotlout opened his mouth to argue or say something else, when they heard hurried footsteps approaching.

"Hey, guys!" Everyone turned to see Hiccup come running through the main gate. He was out of breath and Toothless barked,coming over to nuzzle him happily. Ursa smiled and headed over to him, delighted that he'd finally shown up.

"All done with your errand?" She couldn't help returning his kind smile with one of her own. He was one of those pekple that instantly made your day better just by being in it. There were a lot of people like that back on her island, but none quite like Hiccup or any of the people she haad met on Berk.

Astrid noticed their shy smiles and angrily came over, grabbing Hiccup's arm and dragging him toward the table. "So glad you could join us, Hiccup..." He cast a glance back at Ursa to see her holding a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter and Toothless watching her, seeming very much amused at the current scene.

The feisty female leaned in to whisper to Hiccup. "When are they leaving again?"

Hiccup shrugged and replied at normal volume. "Whenever they want to as far as my dad's concerned."

She scowled and walked over to Stormfly. Ursa smiled at the female Viking. "Astrid, if you want us to leave all you have to do is ask."

Astrid rolled her eyes, stroking her nadder. There was no way it could be that easy. Besides, if she did ask then she'd look like a bully.

"What about a bet, then?" Astrid turned to look at Ursa in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"A bet. If I win, then we get to stay here for three more days, unless Stoick asks us to leave, of course. If you win, we'll leave by the end of the day, as long as the weather is decent enough for flying."

The blonde grinned at the idea of them leaving by the end of the day. Stormfly and her could battle better than anyone. They could outrace anyone, except for Hiccup and Toothless and that was only half the time. There was no way they could lose. "You're on."

She smiled back. "It's a deal. What will we do to decide it?"

Tuffnut and Ruffnut chimed in first.  
"Headbutt contest!"

"See who can hang upside down longer!" Tuffnut seemed to be thinking about his idea for himself.

Snotlout rolled his eyes then grinned at the girls. "Sparring match!"

Fishlegs seemed to ponder longer than the others. "What about capture the flag?"

Hiccup nodded. "That's not a bad idea, Fishlegs... Alright. How about you two play capture the flag for your bet if you insist on doing this?"

The girls nodded and spoke in unison. "Let's go!"

* * *

A little while later, both girls were in the air, facing each other. Stormfly seemed uncertain what was going on, even though Astrid had explained it to her. Her rider's determination seemed to be throwing her. Both girls had a sash tied around their upper arm that swayed lightly in the breeze. They had both agreed that whoever got the other's flag off their person first won and they could use their dragons to do it.

"Ready...?" Ursa rubbed Swift's neck and he quivered with anticipation.

"Set." Astrid leaned down in her seat, setting herself firmly.

"Go!" Both girls yelled, followed by roars from their dragons as they flew at each other. The other riders and dragons watched from down below as the dragons wove around each other.

Astrid gritted her teeth. "Stormfly! Spikes!" The nadder whipped its tail letting spikes protrude and began to whip it again to shoot them at its rivals.

Ursa nudged Swift. "Not a chance! Swift!" Swift hissed and wrapped an antenna around Stormfly's tail. Without being able to move its tail, Stormfly couldn't launch its spikes. "Swift! Get that sash!" Swift hissed and reached for it.

Astrid saw the antenna reaching for her. There was no way she'd lose this! She tilted in her saddle and Stormfly followed suit, spinning Swift loose of them.

Ursa laughed and smiled at her. "This is so much fun, Astrid!"

Astrid huffed. The stakes were fairly high so why was this girl giggling like they were just having a fun game? Astrid sighed. Ursa talked as though it was just a game, but she was tough and a worthy opponent. This was going to be tough...

* * *

**Well, this chapter is kind of short, but I wanted to leave it here. I hope everyone enjoyed it. So, I've decided that for the contest between Astrid and Ursa whoever wins is up to you guys! Over the next week if you want, review and say who you want to win (or any conditions, etc. for the winner). I'll tally them up and whoever has more votes will be the winner. So please read, review, and enjoy!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

Both dragons flapped as the girls stared each other down. It had been at least ten minutes with neither sash removed. They stared, breathing slightly labored and a small bit of sweat glistening their foreheads. Ursa patted Swift's neck. "Ready to finish this, boy?" The dragon glanced at her and nodded with a hiss. Swift flapped his wings harder then flew at Stormfly with renewed energy.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "A headlong attack? You're running out of moves, Ursa. Stormfly, dodge!" The nadder tilted enough to the right to dodge and Ursa grinned. She nudged her legs on Swift's neck and he flew up and over Stormfly. In an instant, Ursa had catapaulted herself off Swift and landed on Stormfly. Astrid gasped and tried to shove the girl away, but she wove around the punch and snatched at her sash.

Astrid glared as she leaned out of her reach. "You are not winning..." Ursa could have imagined it, but she could have swore Astrid's eyes flicked to Hiccup behind her for an instant. "Stormfly, hold steady!" She stood and swung a fist, making solid contact with Ursa's cheek. To the foreigner's credit, she only stumbled, keeping solid footing on the nadder's back. Astrid swung again, this time lower. Her fist connected firmly with Ursa's stomach and the girl's breath left her. Astrid nudged Stormfly to spin and the nadder hesitantly obliged. Ursa, too weak to keep her footing fell loose of Stormfly, but not before Astrid grabbed her sash with a smirk. "Won't be needing this..." She waved it tauntingly, but Ursa had no time to appreciate her bragging as she fell through the air, body limp.

Swift roared in horror. He had built up too much speed to fly over Stormfly, too far away from his rider to catch her. None of the dragons were fast enough to catch her, except for Toothless and he was too far from Hiccup in the small viewing crowd for him to get to her. Ursa squeezed her eyes shut. Her stomach hurt badly, but if she hit the water from this high up, she'd hurt a lot worse. "...Hoo...Hookfang..."

The dragon perked up at his name and stirred, eyes fluttering. Snotlout looked to the nightmare. "Hookfang?" The dragon roared and dove for the falling girl. She knew in her heart that Hookfang most likely wouldn't reach her, but maybe the motivation to save a friend would be enough. Her eyes opened and Ursa saw the water quickly approaching. There was no way Hookfang would arrive in time.

Suddenly, a red blur filled her view and she fell heavily on to its back. Hookfang barked in surprise, his stomach lowered a few feet from the impact and he flapped, evening himself out. Ursa straightened herself out on the dragon and settled comfortably into the saddle. "Thanks, sweetie... I would have been in trouble there if not for you." Hookfang glanced back her and growled happily.

All the others rushed over as Hookfang landed. Ursa slid off and giggled as Hookfang licked her cheek in delight. "Hookfang!" Gently, she nudged his snout away before he could lick her again. Slowly, she began to realize the others were talking to her.

"Wow! You take a punch better than Tuffnut!"

Tuffnut turned to his sister angrily. "Hey! I can take a punch!" The remark made Ruffnut whack him upside the head and Tuffnut cry out as he went down. "Oww...that hurts! ...Do it again!"

"I've never seen Hookfang go that fast before!" Fishlegs was literally bouncing up and down with excitement.

"Hookfang never listens to _Me_ that like that..." Ursa paused in her laughing and rubbed Hookfang's snout. Snotlout had his arms crossed and was grumbling. She pursed her lips. Obviously, Ursa was glad Hookfang had caught her, but she didn't want Snotlout to be upset by it, even indirectly.

"Ya know..." Snotlout looked at her as she mused. "I'm awfully impressed he caught me so easily. He must be pretty strong..." She glanced over at him.

Naturally, he grinned at the comment. "Of course! He's strong like his rider." Snotlout flexed his arms, showing off his muscles and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Go ahead. They aren't just for show."

Ursa smiled politely and felt his bicep, feigning amazement. "Wow! That's impressive... I would think you could lift a whole yak with those..."

He began to babble on about his muscles and exercise techniques as the twins argued and Fishlegs shook his head in disbelief that Snotlout thought she was honestly impressed. Meanwhile, Hiccup had remained quiet ever since Hookfang had caught her. He had been immensely relieved that she was safe and veryyy mad at Astrid for being so harsh to her. Astrid didn't have to hit her thattt hard after all. Yet, he felt a pang when he saw her feeling Snotlout's muscles. It surprised him to feel that. It felt almost like...jealousy?

Ursa glanced at Hiccup, curious why he was so quiet, but then she saw the expression on his face. It was almost like a...scowl? A scowl would be very un-Hiccupy, yet there it was, plastered on his face for all to see. She turned back to Snotlout, irritated. The nerve of him! What did he have to scowl at her for?! It was _His_ girlfriend that had been excessively hitting her! Well, she certainly wouldn't let Hiccup ruin her time.

"Guess I win, huh?" Astrid grinned, waving Ursa's flag victoriously as Stormfly landed among the group.

Ursa smiled back sweetly. "Not quite." She held up Astrid's flag and the blond looked to her upper arm in shock. Sure enough, there was no sash there. She fumed and had the powerful urge to hit the girl for the second round that day. Ursa continued on as though she hadn't made Astrid furious. "Guess that makes it a tie, huh? Well, then why don't we split the bet? How about I stay today and leave halfway through tomorrow? Sound fair?"

Astrid nodded numbly. She was still in shock from finding her flag in Ursa's hand, furious at how calm the girl was, and worried by the end of her stay here, Hiccup would be hers.

Fishlegs, being the only emotionally sensitive member not distracted at the moment, decided to lighten the mood. "Hey, guys? I don't know about you, but I'm starving..."

Snotlout groaned. "Of course, _You'd_ be hun..." He trailed off as they all heard a stomach rumble and Ursa smiled shyly.

"Guess my stomach agrees with Fishlegs."

Snotlout perked up and nudged her with an elbow. "Well, if gorgeous here is hungry, then I vote we go grab some grub." He held an elbow out for her. "Milady...?"

Ruffnut stared, slack-jawed and dumbfounded. "I can't decide if that's more sad..."

Astrid crossed her arms, shook her head, and finished. "Or disgusting."

Ursa smiled politely. "As...tempting as that offer is Snotlout, I should probably take Swift on our morning warm-ups first. He gets grumpy and stiff when I don't. It's kind of like our bonding tradition."

He shrugged. "Whatever. I'll save you a seat next to yours truly and grab you some grub."

Ursa nodded while the other two females and Fishlegs shook their heads at Snotlout's lack of ettiquete. "Thanks, Snotlout."

The rest of the kids and dragons left Swift and Ursa by the Cliffside, quickly saying goodbyes. She smiled as she heard them talking. Astrid's voice floated back to her. "I want some chicken. They've been good with fat lately."

Tuffnut chuckled. "Yeah! They have almost as much fat as Ruffnut's...ow!"

She giggled and turned back to her dragon, climbing on. "Let's go, Swift!" With a happy roar, they were off and racing over the water.

* * *

The small boy glanced back as they headed to the great hall to see the blue dragon swerve and swoop out over the ocean and decided he could talk to her after she finished her exercises. Astrid saw him hang back and glanced at him. "I'll catch up. You guys go on ahead."

She put her hands on her hips angrily, but was suddenly caught off guard.

For as far back a she could remember, Astrid had never seen Hiccup get angry. Flustered? Yes. Frustrated? Yes. Irritated? Yes, that too. Never angry, though, yet she could see he was very clearly angry right now. It sent a delicious tingle down her spine to think of Hiccup's rare fury being turned on Ursa. It usually wasn't in Astrid's nature to be that harsh, but ever since she gained her suspicions about the girl, she found herself amused at her difficulties. Besides, Ursa deserved it from trying to steal Hicup from her. Let the foreigner squirm a little. "Well, alright. See you soon then." She turned and dashed after the group.

Hiccup glanced at Toothless and saw him staring after the leaving Dusk and Sliversky in disappointment before he turned back to him. The young viking sighed. "Go on, bud." Toothless's eyes lit up and he happily licked Hiccup's cheek before racing after the female night furies. Hiccup smiled at Toothless's retreating form before turning and running back to the stadium. There was something he needed to talk to Ursa about.

* * *

Ursa laughed as the wind whipped back her hair. She remembered times when she was little and the dragons would eagerly let her fly them around. Her tiny hands could hardly hold on, yet she always felt safe with her reptilian friends.

She nudged Swift and the changewing let his tongue flap out before spiraling upward. She loved when he shed his somewhat tough exterior and would be free and relaxed like he was now. "Thatta boy!" Swift let loose a delighted roar and shot some flames up and into the sky. He let his wings go limp and they fell downward. It was such a rush! Nothing could ruin this moment for her.

* * *

Hiccup reached the stadium edge and looked for Ursa and Swift, scanning the dome when a sudden voice caught his attention. "Ya-whoooo!" Their blurred forms suddenly zoomed downward past Hiccup's vision. He looked down and saw them free-falling toward the water. Swift swerved at the last second, tilting so his wings alternatingly skimmed the water, sending up misty waves to hit a laughing Ursa. Hiccup felt his expression soften at the sight of a happy rider and dragon. No matter how mad he was at the moment, it always made him happy to see dragons and Vikings being happy together. It truly showed all that he had helped create.

Ursa wiped back her wet hair and caught sight of a skinny form over on the cliffside. She patted Swift, who's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of Hiccup too. "Oh, calm down, you! Let's see what he wants." Swift grumbled as he flapped his way over. Ursa smiled at Hiccup happily, even though she could easily feel the tension radiating off Hiccup's small form. She slid off Swift and looked at him, about eye level with Hiccup being the smallest fraction taller. "You need something, Hiccup? I told you we'd catch up."

"Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about, oh I don't know, your ridiculous flirting with Snotlout?" He looked at her exasperated and Ursa almost laughed before she realized he was serious.

"Oh, wait. You're serious, aren't you?" Ursa crossed her arms and leaned on Swift. "Okay. Let's say I was genuinely flirting with Snotlout. What business is it of yours?"

The boy felt his cheeks warm a smidge. He couldn't say the truth. Well, what was the truth? He was impressed with her devotion of dragons and her knowledge. She was a sweet and instantly likeable girl. There was something innocent about her yet she wasn't ignorant. So, why did her flirting bother him?

Ursa pushed off of Swift and rested a hand on a hip, regarding Hiccup. "Look. He was bummed about Hookfang so I wanted to cheer him up. It wasn't genuine flirting."

Hiccup was confused as he felt a wave of relief wash over him for a moment. "Well, I'm..."

Sudddenly, Ursa held up a hand. "But, even if I was, it doesn't concern you. You're with Astrid. She's made that pretty clear." She turned and nudged Swift so he walked toward town with her. "If you decide to change that status, then you're free to, obviously, but just because you're the chief's son, doesn't mean you can get everything you want." Ursa turned and looked at Hiccup quietly. "Who your parents are will always be a part of you, but they don't decide who'll be as a person. You're your own person, Hiccup. Make your own decisions. You can't have us both so if this really was over jealousy then you're going to have to choose. If not, then come join everyone in the great hall and stop acting obnoxious." Without another word, she turned and walked towards town with Swift.

When they were out of earshot, Swift grumbled to Ursa, looking at her worriedly. She stroked his neck and smiled at him a little bit. "I know, Swift. I rarely get mad, but he was upsetting me..." The girl paused and looked at the ground sadly. "It felt like he was rubbing it in my face..." Swift hissed questioningly. "I don't know. It seems like neither of us know how we feel. All I know is I'm not going to do anything while he's with Astrid. Now, come on. Let's go grab some food." Swift nodded, eyeing her, and they headed to the great hall in silence.

Hiccup stared out at the water as he thought. A swarm of terrible terrors swooped and snatched fish out of the water. One had grabbed a particularly big fish and two other terrors swooped over to help it.

He sighed. Did he have feelings for Ursa? He just met her! It was really too soon to tell or for them to be genuine feelings if he did have them. She did have a point, though. If he did have feelings, he'd have to choose. His brain felt overloaded with all this considering and deciding.

On the other hand, did Ursa have feelings for him? Well, he had seen a hint of anger flare up in her eyes when he had mentioned her flirting with Snotlout. Maybe she did and maybe she didn't. Either way, it shouldn't carry any weight on how he felt. Yet...

Hiccup ran a hand through his hair, his more logical viking brain already processing things. It seemed as though Ursa was undecided like him. He wasn't exactly a girl magnet, but it seemed like both girls cared for him. Astrid it was obvious she liked him because well, she had kissed him on multiple occasions, but she also would be rude to him and a bit violent at times. He rubbed his upper arm unconsciously where Astrid was so fond of hitting him. Ursa hadn't made any solid moves like Astrid had, but she was consistent with her actions. She didn't dart between being sweet to him and then rudely teasing him. It seemed to him she enjoyed being around him, talking to him, and she was always kind to him for the short time he had known her. They both showed their own signs, but he still didn't know.

With a groan, Hiccup's shoulders sagged. However this ended, it wasn't going to end well. One girl would end up angry and/or upset. Plus, he was pretty sure this confrontation had upset Ursa badly and knowing Astrid, she was angry with at least Ursa if not him too. This whole ordeal was so confusing and frustrating for everyone, in Hiccup's opinion. Was he good with blacksmithing? Very. Good with dragons? Extremely. Girls? He'd rather not decide a rating for that.

He sighed. It was soooooo much easier dealing with fire-breathing dragons rather than girls and teenage hormones...

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**Thus, chapter 6 was born! Sorry for those of you that didn't like the mushy relationship stuff at the end. I'm going to try to not have this be a main focus, but some people have been asking about it so I wanted to include something about it. Hope you enjoyed. Read, enjoy, and pretty please review!:D**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

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Well to say Hiccup felt he had screwed up was a little bit of an understatement. He sighed as he glanced across the wide table. Ruffnut and Tuffnut sat on either side of him, tapping their forks against the table between their spread fingers, except they were using the pronged end instead of the handle. Occasionally, Tuffnut would grunt or yelp as he missed and hit his hand. This would make Ruffnut chuckle and they'd continue. Across from him, Snotlout and Astrid were, once again, continuing their endless arm wrestling contest. It seemed like every time Astrid won, Snotlout had some excuse for why he had lost. Hiccup observed all this, yet his eyes kept darting to where Ursa and Fishlegs sat at the end of the table, huddled over the book of dragons.

As soon as Hiccup had gotten to the great hall, he had found his eyes worriedly searching for Ursa. He had spotted her admist their group, talking to Fishlegs. They were too far away for him to hear what they were saying, but Fishlegs was nodding excitedly before he sat down and opened the massive tome. Ursa smiled and sat beside him, continuing their conversation.

With a sigh, Hiccup had walked over and sat between the two twins, not saying a word to Ursa. Yet, her voice continued to float over to his ears as she talked to Fishlegs about dragons. "You see, the eggs themselves don't change colors. They're clear. The baby changewings' scales are constantly shifting to prepare them for when they hatch and need to change into different colors for camouflage."

Fishlegs nodded and hurriedly wrote it in the book. "So, can you add anything about night furies?" That caught Hiccup's attention and he noticed Astrid tense slightly too. "If you live with Dusk and Sliversky you must know something about them, right?"

Ursa smiled and thought. "Well they're one of the most mysterious dragons I've ever seen." She turned as she heard a low grumble and noticed Dusk walk over to her. She lovingly stroked Dusk's head as the large night fury lay down beside her. "They're also extremely loyal and intelligent." Dusk crooned and licked her cheek, making the girl giggle.

The husky boy smiled at the pair. "You guys get along as well as me and Meatlug." The gronkle rolled over in her sleep, a foot kicking at the air. "Awww...isn't she so precious?" He closed the book and turned to stare lovingly at his dragon.

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Yeah...she's adorable." She smiled at Fishlegs's adoration of his dragon. It was really quite beautiful how there were such a variety of dragons and yet they were all, now, loved. A variety of dragons for a variety of people it seemed, Ursa could deduce as she glanced around the group. "Gronkles are extremely loyal too and very loving. Plus, their hide is quite possibly the toughest of any dragon's." Gently, she nudged Fishlegs's hands away from the book. "May I?" He nodded, a faint blush in his cheeks from when her hands had touched his. She smiled at him then looked down at the cover. It seemed like Snotlout had an over inflated ego to make up for Hiccup's and Fishlegs's excessive shyness with girls.

She slid the book over and began to open it when a hand slammed down on the cover, forcibly closing it. Ursa jumped slightly in surprise, but not as much as one may expect. Slowly, the girl leveled her gaze at Astrid, eyes ablaze, which seemed to take Astrid aback slightly. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was it your turn next?" The last sentence seemed to be on the verge of turning into a snarl. She could understand why Astrid had a problem with her, but at the same time she hadn't done anything to deserve being treated like this. Frankly, it was getting irritating. She could deal with a lot, but even she had a breaking point.

Astrid recovered quickly, narrowing her eyes and snatching the book away. "Last time we let someone peek at the book of dragons, Alvin, our sworn enemy, learned all of our secrets! Who knows what will happen if we let someone else see it!"

The pair glared off. "Okay, three things. One, if your sworn enemy already knows everything it says, then what harm can I do? Two, I can possibly add to your knowledge. And three, I don't know who betrayed you last time, but whoever it was, it wasn't me, so don't lump the two of us together!" Astrid blinked at the venom in Ursa's words. That was it. Ursa felt herself snap. The small girl slammed her hands on the table and stood up, causing Dusk to pounce to her feet and her pupils to narrow. Swift jumped up too, hissing. "Look, we both know what your problem is with me, but it's not fair or reasonable. I'll be gone soon enough so leave me alone!" She turned and stormed from the room, slamming the door after Dusk and Swift had hurried out with Sliversky.

The room was silent as the group sat in the awkward silence Ursa had left behind. Naturally, the twins spoke up first. Ruffnut leaned over to look at Astrid. "Uhhhh...I think you made her mad."

Tuffnut rubbed his hands together, grinning. "Ooooo catfight! Gotta love a good catfight!"

Snotlout rolled his eyes and put an arm around Astrid. "No need to fight! There's plenty of Snotlout to go around."

As Snotlout was crying uncle to get Astrid to release his twisted wrist, Hiccup quietly got up and headed out the door after Ursa. No one noticed for the twins were busy speculating on how the catfight would progress and Fishlegs was attempting to get Astrid to release Snotlout.

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The water crashed behind them in waves as Dusk raced over the ocean. She wanted to have Dusk just keep on going, but it was fairly obvious Sliversky wanted to say goodbye to Toothless first and she could subtley tell that Dusk wanted to say goodbye too. Swift seemed fine with whatever she chose. Speaking of which, she glanced at Swift, who was keeping an eye on Sliversky over on the beach. The small baby wasn't scampering around or trying to fly, like usual. Instead, she was curled up in the grass looking miserable. Ursa sighed and had Dusk fly back to where they laid. Swift looked up at her, no pain in his eyes. He knew sometimes she needed the speed of a night fury to quell her anger. He was still her best friend, though, and she touched his snout when she approached to reinforce that. He hissed softly in acknowledgement. Ursa crouched down to look at Sliversky. "Hey, girl. How you doing?"

Sliversky looked up at her, ears drooped. Ursa stroked her cheek. "I'm sorry, girl. I lost my temper. Again." Sliversky stared up at her and nuzzled her hand, purring. She had never told her dragons about her past, but they knew it was full of pain. Even little Sliversky knew it had been tough on Ursa staying this long on Berk.

The tiny dragon looked at her and squeaked softly. Ursa sighed. "Fine. We'll stay until morning, long enough to say goodbye, but then we're leaving. Understand?" Sliversky nodded eagerly and licked a laughing Ursa's cheek. "I'm glad you understand, sweetheart, but I meant him too." She turned to look at the dragon cloaked in shadows nearby. "You understand we can't stay here. Right, Toothless?" The large night fury walked out of the shadows growling low, but unmenacingly. His eyes held so much pain and hurt that Ursa had to fight to keep her resolve to leave by morning. She stood, cradling Sliversky in one arm. Toothless nudged her free hand and she scratched his head. "You can't come either. Hiccup is here." A low whine from the dragon at her hand. "Toothless, I don't see how you can visit. I understand you want to see the other night furies, but I just don't..."

"What...?" The girl looked up, startled as Hiccup approached and froze. His eyes were wide at this revelation. "There are more night furies...?"

Ursa turned to Toothless angrily and the dragon offered her his most innocent look. She sighed and he nudged her hand eagerly. He was a clever dragon alright... "Yes. On Misty Isle there are lots of other night furies. It's where their birthplace is. All the night furies live there along with other dragons, but night furies are the most common dragon there by far. Dusk and Sliversky are just two of many." She paused and seemed to ponder something. "I've never seen night furies on any island beside Misty Isle actually...well, not counting Toothless anyway." Ursa scratched Toothless's head and he crooned happily. "I've kinda been wondering about that. How he got here..." Suddenly, her hand froze and she made a face as if she had just realized something. Toothless looked up at her curiously so she quickly resumed. "Nothing, Toothless. I just want to talk to a friend of mine when I get home." He growled at her, wondering and she laughed lightly. "My aren't we conceited? Yes. Actually, it is about you."

Then it occured to Ursa that for such a curious Viking, Hiccup hadn't contributed much to the conversation, so she shifted her gaze to the small boy. He had an elbow propped on one hand and the other tapping his lip. Ursa could hear Hiccup muttering to himself, but she could only catch bits and pieces. "So that must be...explains a lot...would Toothless..."

He jumped when Ursa waved a hand in front of his face. "Helllloooo? Berk to Hiccup?" He smiled sheepishly and she shook her head at him. "You shouldn't talk to yourself. People will wonder."

Ursa began to turn back to the waiting dragons when Hiccup grabbed her shoulder, turning her back towards him. "Will you take me to Misty Isle with you?"

Her eyes widened at the question. "Wh...why are you asking me that...?" She felt her cheeks warm at being so close and hoped it wasn't noticeable in the fading light.

He stared at her in that intense way he had whenever he was dealing with dragons, especially Toothless. "Toothless doesn't have any other night furies on Berk, but all the other dragons have other dragons of their species. It's not fair to him to not be able to fly on his own _And_ to never be around other night furies."

The girl took a moment to consider this. There really wasn't laws about outsiders on Misty Isle. The main rule was that the dragons had to allow an outsider. The island's outskirts were cloaked in mist, much how dragon island used to be. It'd be fairly challenging, to say the least, for anyone to reach the island without flying a dragon. There were ways from the main land to the beach, for mass evacution and emergency needs, but they were secrets that only Misty Isle citizens were allowed to know. Whenever traders or boats docked down by the beach, they'd fly the dragons down to the beach and have the dragons fly the bought goods back up. For the handful of times they'd needed to bring people to the village a dragon simply flew them up. All in all, vikings and dragons lived in perfect harmony, so if the dragons didn't approve of an outsider, the outsider left, no questions asked. The same went for the people with a dragon, but it was a bit trickier to convince a huge fire-breathing reptile to politely leave simply because they said 'no.'

Ursa considered the facts. Each of the teens had their own dragon and Berk was fairly peaceful with dragons. She didn't see any harm in Hiccup coming with her. As long as she guided him through the mist, he should be able to find his way there and home and it would be nice for Toothless to meet other night furies...

She sighed. "Fine...but on a few conditions."

Ursa only caught a flash of Hiccup's excitement before he had crushed her to him in a happy hug. "Thank you! Toothless has done so much for me he deserves to go see other night furies more than anything." Ursa's cheeks warmed slightly and she gave him a quick hug back before pulling away.

"Ummm...sure, Hiccup, but if you do plan on visiting there are a few conditions..." He nodded, seeming to be embarrassed at his hugging her. "Since you and the others are kind of a package deal, they can come too, but I'm leaving you in charge of them. If anyone starts causing trouble, you guys won't be able to stay very long. Also, our island is peaceful so there shouldn't be much, if any, fighting so please keep that in mind?"

Hiccup nodded. "Well, we might have some trouble, but I'll try my best."

"That's all I ask. I'll do what I can if there is any trouble." A secretive smile played on her lips. "I do have a little pull with the chief there after all." She turned to where the three night furies stood. "Sound good, guys?" In an instant, Ursa was on the ground, laughing, as three night furies eagerly licked at her face in happiness. "I'll take that as a yes!" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hiccup laughing, amused at the sight. Ursa smirked and the dragons paused as they heard her whisper. "Ya know...Hiccup is the one who asked...you should really thank him..."

The small boy's eyes widened as he had three night fuies pounce on him. Now, it was Ursa's turn to laugh. She let her laughter run out and smiled as she saw Dusk and Toothless nudge each other happily. Sliversky jumped and flapped enough to scramble onto Toothless's back.

She offered her hand to Hiccup to help him up. "Come on. We better let the others know, right?"

He nodded and took her hand, getting to his feet, and released her hand. "Let's go tell the others."

Ursa smiled and hurried back to Swift and the two raced after Hiccup and the three night furies. Nearby, someone stood in the shadows, watching as Swift scooped Ursa onto his back as she laughed. A light breeze caught her hair, blowing it around. She really was quite beautiful. Maybe the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, inside and out. His eyes narrowed. His hands on the rocky outcropping gripped it tight, making a small patter of dust and pebbles crumble down. There was only thing standing in his way of having any chance of winning her over. He jumped onto his dragon and it flapped, flying off. His grip tightened as he thought of that one thing. The one thing he'd have to somehow get out of his way.

Hiccup.

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**Well, there's chapter 7! I hope everyone's been enjoying. I haven't been getting much feedback on this story... I'd love for you guys to tell me what you think (even if you think something's bad). So please review! I look forward to hearing from you guys! Please read, enjoy, and pretty please review! **


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